Friday, April 6, 2012

A common question that I get asked it what kind of finish looks best on what color cabinet. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. It's all about preference. With that being said, some people have a preference but it just doesn't look that great. I find that silver finishes look best on darker cabinets and dark finishes look best on light cabinets.

I've put together some examples, that hopefully will aid you in your process. Granted, there are a ton more finish options on the market, but starting with the basics will (hopefully) give you a general idea.

As you can see above, pretty much all of the finishes look okay on the dark cabinet except the Oil Rubbed Bronze. It just sort of blends in and gets lost. I have to say, for someone who dislikes brass, even that one looks pretty good on a dark background.
Like this:

Medium toned cabinets I think are the trickiest, the above example has some distressing so the polished finishes don't look too great, but a Satin Nickel or a Weathered Nickel, and the Oil Rubbed Bronze or Blacks tend to look the best.

A white painted or glazed cabinet would be an easy palette to begin with (you would think) but there's so much you can do with such a neutral background you're options are pretty much endless. The only finish I don't really love on this background is the glossy brass tones and that's only because I think it gives a dated look to the cabinets.
Below is a great example of a classic design that I've seen modified a number of different ways, using dark hardware and satin nickel.

Last would be a light wood toned cabinet. Which again, is fairly universal. Again, the brass isn't typically the best choice for this tone because it does get washed out. But, any silver tone looks great, and of course the Dark Bronzes and Blacks.